DZEDIT(1)

📦 version 2025.09.18.4, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

💅 DZEDIT(1) — the CERN ZEBRA documentation editor, explained by your tech bestie

okay so real talk: this is the manual page for dzedit from the General Commands Manual, and yes she's giving "ancient CERN lore" but we're gonna get through it together, bestie 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

dzedit — literally the CERN ZEBRA documentation editor. that's her. that's the whole name. iconic.

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

dzedit  [ options ]
dzeX11

two ways in, babes: the wrapper with options, or the raw program, no cap.

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so dzeX11 is an interactive interface to the DZDOC system (that's the ZEBRA documentation system, developed at CERN, fancy 💅). and dzedit is a wrapper script around dzeX11 that lets you set a few environment options — like a little handler for her more powerful friend.

meanwhile ZEBRA is part of the Packlib library, and it lets a developer create complex data structures in the FORTRAN 77 language. the DZDOC system is what lets that developer generate and maintain documentation of ZEBRA data structures. so yes: ZEBRA builds the structures, DZDOC writes the receipts. we love a system that documents itself 🔥

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -d driver — use the graphics driver driver, i.e. have dzedit call the program dzedriver. the default is "X11". and ngl bestie, you are exceedingly unlikely to want anything other than the default 💀 like that's the whole mood of this flag.
  • -h host — give the host to open the window on. this is exactly the same as setting the environment variable $DISPLAY to "host:0.0". you don't need to do this if you're logged on to a remote host through SSH — she handles it. (but if you're using telnet… shame on you! 🙈 not me calling you out, the man page is calling you out.)
  • -v version — specify the version of CERNLIB to use. this only makes sense if you have a version of CERNLIB directly from CERN installed. in that case you should also have set the environment variable $CERN. then dzedit will look for the dzeX11 program in the directory $CERN/<version>/bin/. iykyk 🧚

🍓 FILES 🍓

  • dzedit.kumac — dzedit tries to read startup commands from this file in the current directory. her little morning routine ✨
  • dzedit.las — dzedit stores the names of the ZEBRA file and documentation file in this file in the current directory. keeping the receipts, we stan 🎀
  • last.kumac — at the end of a session, dzedit outputs this file containing a transcript of the commands used during the session. it's giving diary entry. it's giving and that's what happened 💖

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the ZEBRA manual:

http://wwwasdoc.web.cern.ch/wwwasdoc/psdir/zebra.ps.gz

(specifically, chapter 16 is about DZDOC 👑)

💀 BUGS 💀

okay so this is the part where the man page gets brutally honest: this man page is essentially useless 😭 because the section of the ZEBRA manual about DZDOC is incomprehensible and there are no tutorials about it. and anyone who wants to provide a better man page is welcome to do so — an open invitation, bestie, the door is literally open 🫶

⭐ AUTHOR ⭐

this manual page was written by Kevin McCarty <kmccarty@debian.org> for the Debian GNU/Linux system — but it may be used by others. generous king 💜

and that's the whole page, bestie — written April 15, 2004, source and version and date all folded into this little sign-off so nothing gets lost 🎀 slay, go document some FORTRAN data structures 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from